Improvement in breech-loading fire-arms



R. MGCHESNEY. Brech-Loading Fire-Arm;

Patented Oct. 2,' 1866.

NJHFRG. PHOTO-LlTHoGRAFMER. WASHINGTON. D C.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICEl REUBEN MCGHESNEY, OF ILION, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 58,444, dated October 2, 1866.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that L'R. MCOHESNEY, or" Ilion, in the county of Herkimer and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Breech-Loadin g Fire-Arms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specication, in which- Figure l is a sectional elevation of so much of a breeeh-loadin g firearm as is necessary to show in order to illustrate my invention, the section being taken on the bent line W of Fig. 3. Fig'.x 2 is asectional elevation, taken along the bent line x of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is an elevation of a cross-section, taken on the vertical line y of Fig. l. Fig. 4is a horizontal section of that part of the receiver which incloses the breech A of the barrel, taken on the line z of Fig. 3. Figs. 5 and G are detailed views, illustrating theiconstruction and operation of the shelldrawer. Fig. 7 is a detailed view of the device which locks the breech-piece. Fig.

l8 showsthe manner of securing the mainspring in place. Fig. 9 represents one of the removable sides of that part of the receiver which constitutes the lock-frame. Fig. lO is aback view oi' the hammer-piece G.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

A designates the breech of the barrel of a fire-arm inclosed within the forward part of the receiver B, as usual. The tangs a a ofthe receiver furnish means for securing the receiver to the stock, which is not shown in the drawings. The body of the receiver behind and below the breech is made hollow to constitute a lock-frame. Figs. 1, 2, and 3 show the form of the chamber thus made in the said receiver. The sides of this part of the receiver are designated by theletters B B. They are fitted to the solid part of the receiver by means of bosses or projections j h, which articulate with recesses j h in the iiXed parts of the receiver.

The sides are held together by means of screws or bolts i. The tangs a are supported and strengthened by means of a screw, a, which also serves to connect them to the stock of a gun. It also serves as an abutment for the mainspring H, which tits in a groove made about it, the end of the spring being formed into a semicircle, so as to embrace the body of the screw. By this construction I am able to disconnect the inainspring from the rest of the lock and replace it with facility.

` C is the hammer-piece, being composed of a hammer,b, and tumbler c, according to a mode ot' construction now common in fire-arms. It moves about a fulcrum, J, which is journaled in bearings made forit in the removable sides B l 2 designate notches made in the tumbler to enable the trigger E to engage it for halfcock and full-cock.

The letter c designates a toe, which.projeets forward from the tumbler, and whose office is to raise the breeclrpieee D, as hereinafter explained. This toe in this example of my invention is made rigid, but in small-arms or in pieces where the space it is to move in is contracted it may be jointed so as to require less room to move in.

Iis a stirrup, depending from the back part of the tumbler, and capable of swing-ing back and forth on its journals. (See Figs. l and 2 and l0.) It is connected by a T-joint to the forward end of the mainspring H in such a manner that it can be readily disconnected therefrom, the joint of the stirrup resting in an open-forked socket formed on the adjacent end of the said spring.

The shape of the mainspring H is seen in Fig. 1,i.ts back end being clamped to the lower tang a by means of t-he screw-bolt n, whose position when in place is such that the semicircular end of the spring is clamped by that part of the thread of the screw which is next above the groove that receives the end of the spring. The spring is kept from lateral displacement, as well as from being moved forward away from the screw-pin a by means of a dog, 8, projecting downward from the shank of the spring into a recess, 7, made in the adjoining tang a.

L is the trigger-guard, andE is the trigger, the toe of the latter being forced constantly toward the tumbler by a spring, n', so that the trigger may be able to engage the notches 1 and 2 of the tumbler c.

K is a socket made in the lower part of that portion of the receiver which contains the breech of the barrel, for the purpose of receiw `for them in the movable sides B of the receiver, said sockets being of greater diameter than the said journals, to permit them to be moved horizontallyr therein, whereby the breech-piece is made to vibrate about a movable axis, the convexity of its bent part d being rolled into contact with the forward part of the socket K, and thus transferring the center of motion from the journals d d2 to the convexity of the bent part d of the breech. The effect of this construction is that the breechpiece, as it drops, vibrates about an axis which is movable in a horizontal line, and which, therefore, permits it to move horizontally forward as it uncovers the breech of the barrel. When the breech-piece is moved upward to its place before the breech of the barrel it is moved horizontally backward to enable it to clear that part of the receiver which lies directly beneath the said breech.

q y designate a tiring-pin, which slides in a groove, 3, made for it in that side of the breech-piece along which the hammer moves. The party/thereof is liush with the side of the breech-piece, but the front part, q, is extended laterally from the side of the breechpiece in the path of the hammer. A small projection (not seen in the drawing) is made on its face, toward the breech of the barrel, which comes up against the flange of the cartridge when the pin is driven forward by the hammer in firing. The lower back part of the groove 3 is hollowed out to receive a spring, et, attached to the lower side of the firing-pin. The oflice of the spring is to produce sufficient friction to hold the pin in whatever position it is left by the forward and backward movements of the hammer. The upper side of the part q of the pin has an elevation, p', which is seized by a notch, l), on the hammer when the latter strikes against the lirin gpin. Vhen the hammer is drawn backward to cock it the notch p is enabled to retain its hold of the elevated part p of the pin and draw the pin backward with it, because the groove 3, in which the pin slides, is tangential to the arc described by the hammer in its movements. The pull or force thus brought to 'bear upon the liring-pin by the backward movement of the hammer is communicated to the breech-piece, which is thereby started from its position next to the breech of the barrel and brought down toward its lowest position, so as to uncover the breech and permit the shell-drawer to remove the empty shell, and also to permitafresh cartridge to be supplied.

F is a bolt, which is fitted to slide to and fro along the upper part of the receiver behind the breech-piece. rlhe upper part of the bolt has a iiange, g', which is tted to move in a way formed for it behind the socket lt. By means of this flange and the way it moves in the bolt is sustained in its place against the upper part of the receiver. The forward part of the bolt widens at m, forming a shoulder, which is made to sustain one end of a twoleaved spring, whose other end is secured by a hinge-join t, Z, to the Iixed part of the receiver, the axis of the hinge being made to extend past the liange g of the bolt, so as to prevent it from coming too far forward. The tendency of the spring is to keep the bolt continually out toward the left, (see Fig. 1,) so as to come beneath the part 9 of the breech-piece. Ilhc front part, m, of the bolt is sustained when in its furthest position toward the left, in Fig. 1, by the upper part,10, of the hammer, (see Fig. 10,) which projects upward into an angular space, m', made for it in the part 'in of the b'olt, the formation of which space leaves a plate,f, to hang down before the part l0 of the hammer. g g designate a spring plate fastened diagonally to the inner side of the front part of the bolt, its front ed ge bein g made to press against the side of the part 10 of the hammer, while its rear edge is inclined away from the path of the hammer.

The number 6 designates a dog, which projects from the right-hand upper side of the part 10 of the hammer, and which fits between the platef and the front edge of the spring g. The shape ofthe dog 6 in side view resembles an ellipse, its upper and lower sides being curved, so as to enable the parts to move along and act upon each other with facility. It follows from this construction that when the hammer is pulled back the dog 6 acts on the front edge of the spring-plate g, and drives the bolt F backward from beneath the breechpiece7 the springGyielding to allow this movement of the bolt. The breech-piece is then free to drop down away from the breech of the barrel. The left-hand leaf of the spring G is locked in the inner surface of shoulder m by a hook, which takes into a suitably-formed slot in such a way as to secure them to each other. Therefore in all the movements of the bolt the spring G retains its hold thereof. When the bolt is carried back far enough to permit the breech-piece to drop to its lowest position, the said breech-piece will be in front of the plate j'. Then the bolt has been carried back so far,

the dog 6 on the hammer will have passed under the spring-plate and become disengaged therefrom, and the toe e of the tumbler will have restored the breech-piece again to its highest position behind the breech of the barrel, and the bolt F will have also resumed its place beneath the part q of the breech-piece. Should the hammer be now released from the trigger, its dog 6 will crowd past the springplate g, which will yield to its pressure, and when the hammer has reached the position shown in Fig. 1 the dog 6 will be found again between the plate f and the front edge of the spring-plate, ready again to withdraw the bolt from beneath the breech-piece. It will be observed that, owing to the construction described of the front part of the bolt, the hamt ciently Withdrawn from its path.

mer cannot discharge the piece prematurely before the breech-piece is in place, because the plate f will arrest the hammer it' the bolt is not in its proper place beneath the breechpiece. y

M N M designate the shell-drawer. The part N is semicircular i n shape, and tits in a suitable groove made for it in the breech of the barrel, so that the flange of the cartridge will t over it. The ends of the semicircular piece N are connected to rods M, which move in cylindrical grooves P P, made in the receiver, on either side of the barrel. These rods VVarenpushed out from their grooves by means i of sprlngs Q, which rest against the ends W of the rods. One of the rods is cut away, as seen at R in Fig. 4, the front part of the rod having also a diagonal depression at the end of the space It, and which depression receives the angular endV ofthe slide S, which moves in another groove, r. The slide S may be operated from the prolongation of the breechpicce, or from some other moving part of the gun, and, since its angular end V lies against the angular face W of the rod M, it follows that if the slide S is drawn down, the rod M will be moved toward the right, and so soon as the shoulder t of the slide has retired from the diagonal groove of the rod M the spring Q Will force the rod M toward the right, and Cause the partN to draw the empty shell from the breech of the barrel. That part of the rod M which is cut away at R is free to move past the part O of the slide when thelatter is sufri- The shelldrawer may be restored to its place in the rei ceiver by hand, and the restoration ot1 the slide S to the position seen in Fig. 5 will lock the rods M in place. Both rods M of the shelldrawer may be made in thc Way described, if thought desirable.

I do not claim placing the hammer and firing-pin upon the left-hand side of a swinging breech-piece, as this was first called to my attention by Col. Hiram Berdan; nor do I claim holdin g a breech-piece operated by other means than the hammer in position by means of a projection on the front side of the tumbler or brace when the hammer is at full-cock, as

this also was first called to my attention by GoLBerdan; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Lifting a swinging breech-piece from an open to a close position entirely by the immediate action of the hammer, or of some projection thereof, Without any intermediate device, substantially as herein specified.

2. The relative arrangement and combina tion of the breech-piece and hammer in such a manner that the breech-piece may descend by its own Weight and open the breech before the hammer reaches half-cock, and benraised again to close the breech while the hammer is passing from half-cock to full-cock, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

3. The combined arrangement of the breechpiece locking-bolt, or its equivalent, and the hammer in such a manner that the breech* piece shall be held locked independently of the hammer during the entire descent of the latter, then unlocked by the action of the hammer before the same reaches half-cock in ascending, and again locked, by the action thereof, at or before reaching full-cock.

4. The sliding firing-pin q y, arranged to slide in the side of the breeclrpiece, substantially as above described.

5. The dog q of tl1eha1nmcrpiece ofthe bolt F, substantially as and for the purpose above described.

6. The 'dog 6, in combination with the pendent plate f otl the sliding bolt F, substantially as and for the purpose above described.

7. The hook p of the hammer, in combina4 tion with the firing-pin, constructed and operating substantially as and for the purpose above described.

S. The mode above described of securing the end of the mainspring, to Wit, by tting its end in a groove on the screw-pin n, in combination with the projection S and recess 7, substantially as above described.

REUBEN MGCHESNEY.

Witnesses:

M. M. LIVINGSTON, C. L. E. TOPLIFF. 

